Despite the obvious fact that if you are using a calculator to arrive at an accurate answer they should all deliver the same result provided you have presented the mathematical question in the right way, there are clear differences in usability and functionality between different models.

What this resource aims to do is provide you with clear guidance on the scientific and graphing calculators available and what specific features each one offers.

There are a number of different questions that you need to ask before finally deciding which make and model of calculator is best suited to your needs. For example, if you are planning on using your calculator in a testing environment you will want to know that the one you have chosen is permitted on tests and can perform the functions you are looking for.

If you are wanting to buy a suitable graphing calculator it might be important to you that it can perform differential equations or linear algebra. Is a color display a key feature or do you need a specific level of available memory?

Will a budget calculator prove to be a false economy or will you end up paying over the odds for a high-end scientific calculator that offers more features than you actually need?

Finding the answers to these and many other relevant questions will help you to narrow down your choices so that you pick the best calculator for your specific needs.

Casio FX-300MS Plus

Casio aims its calculators at the economy end of the market and that means that some models are lacking in certain features. The FX-300ES Plus doesn’t offer metric conversions, complex numbers, or calculus functions and the next one up is the FX-115ES Plus which does at least give you calculus and statistics functions.

The FX-115MS Plus has no less than 279 functions and also offers access to Boolean logic operations, but if you want their best calculator it is probably going to be the FX-300MS Plus.

You get all the features you would expect delivered on a large two-line display screen, plus additional enhancements such as 18 level of parentheses.

HP-10S

HP offer you a choice of three scientific calculators and they are very similar in both design and operation.

The HP-10S gives you a 2-line display, 240 functions, and 9 variable memories. This solar-powered calculator is aimed at students and school children up to the middle level.

Casio FX-9750G11

This graphing calculator claims to match the technology that you get with the Texas TI-83 and TI-84 Plus models too, which is worth taking notice of as the price tag for the Casio FX-9750G11 is likely to be lower.

You certainly get AP Statistic Features, Pie Charts a Bar Graphs, although a good reason for the disparity in price is the lack of a color display option.

There are plenty of features to compensate for that, including an Interactive Equation Solver, Inferential Statistics & Probability Distributions, plus trigonometry options that include Hyperbolic Functions.